Imac won't start up n issues in single user mode

Imac won't start up after long time 'frazing' of Firefox. Manual start up ended up in the grey screen forever'processing' icon.
Had a look at other solutions, unable to enter safe mode. Someone mentioned to try single user mode and it went through half way with error messages on the screen which has no command line available for me to key in any letter.
My Imac has been out of warranty coverage for a while, how do I know if it's hard ware problems before paying for service?
Any help would be appreciated!
Alice

Yes, I have backed up and deleted old files using target disk mode with an old macbook. It's just the larger files I didn't have enough space and disks for. I really appreciate your help on this as I've never had any mac issues before this so am not really sure what to look for.

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Start vm linux Guests in single-user mode

Hi -
I have OBIEE vm template installed and everything is OK, I forgot the roor password for this guest, (ovsroot) is not working I think I've changed it. One option is to start this guest in single-user mode, I tried but you can't see the console until the system is starting services which is a late phase to run linux single command on boot prompt. Please advice how can change my root password using single-user mode.
thanks in advance
Omar

Omar M Sawalhah wrote:
Sorry, but I am not sure I am getting this right, where should I add 'single console=xvc0', if you mean the guest, as I mentioned in my post I don't know the root password and I can't logon. please kindly if you can add more detailed steps.When you boot your guest using xm create -c vm.cfg, it will immediately connect you to the console of the guest. That will show you the GRUB boot menu. You then need to edit the kernel boot line exactly the same way you would a physical server. In order to boot into single-user mode, you need to add the parameter single to the boot line. Along with that parameter, you also need console=xvc0 so that the guest uses the connected console to show you the boot process and allows you access to the single-user shell. If you do not use this parameter, you'll need to determine the VNC port used by the guest and used VNC to connect to the console instead.

Agetty fails to start after switching out of single user mode

Every time I switch to runlevel 3 from single user mode, agetty fails with this error:
Jan 29 10:19:28 localhost agetty[1445]: /dev/tty1: cannot open as standard input: Input/output error
And since it fails, init disables it for 5 minutes… This always happens on the virtual console I run "init 3" on; the other consoles work fine.
This is how I run agetty from /etc/inittab:
c1:2345:respawn:/sbin/agetty -8 -s 38400 -a ma --noclear tty1 linux
Disabling auto-login and removing the --noclear option does not make any difference. Does anyone have a clue what is going on? It is more of an inconvenience than a problem, but still… I am using early KMS on an ATI Radeon 9550 card, by the way.

So nobody else has been bitten by this stupid bug?
Anyway, it happens on a pure VGA console too, so it has nothing to do with the video driver. And I take back the “more of an inconvenience” part – it is freaking annoying that one can not just properly change the runlevel. Oh well…

Start SQL Server in single user mode with parameter -m doesn't work well

C:\Windows\system32>net start mssqlserver /m "Microsoft SQL Server Management St
udio - Query"
The SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER) service is starting.
The SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER) service was started successfully.
C:\Windows\system32>sqlcmd -S . -e
1> go
1> select @@servername;
2> go
select @@servername;
myserver
(1 rows affected)
1>
As you can see, I'm still able to connect with sqlcmd prompt to SQL Server. According production doc of SQL Server 2014, it should not be conncting by sqlcmd. it shall only be connected by SSMS.
below the original doc on msdn:
Start SQL Server in Single-User Mode
Provide Feedback
Under certain circumstances, you may have to start an instance of SQL Server
in single-user mode by using the startup option -m. For
example, you may want to change server configuration options or recover a
damaged master database or other system database. Both actions require starting
an instance of SQL Server in single-user mode.
Starting SQL Server in single-user mode enables any member of the computer's
local Administrators group to connect to the instance of SQL Server as a member
of the sysadmin fixed server role. For more information, see Connect to
SQL Server When System Administrators Are Locked
Out.
When you start an instance of SQL Server in single-user mode, note the
following:
Only one user can connect to the server.
The CHECKPOINT process is not executed. By default, it is executed
automatically at startup.
Note
Stop the SQL Server Agent service before connecting to an instance of SQL
Server in single-user mode; otherwise, the SQL Server Agent service uses the
connection, thereby blocking it.
When you start an instance of SQL Server in single-user mode, SQL Server
Management Studio can connect to SQL Server. Object Explorer in Management
Studio might fail because it requires more than one connection for some
operations. To manage SQL Server in single-user mode, execute Transact-SQL
statements by connecting only through the Query Editor in Management Studio, or
use the
sqlcmd utility.
When you use the -m option with sqlcmd or
Management Studio, you can limit the connections to a specified client
application. For example, -m"sqlcmd" limits connections to a
single connection and that connection must identify itself as the
sqlcmd client program. Use this option when you are starting
SQL Server in single-user mode and an unknown client application is taking the
only available connection. To connect through the Query Editor in Management
Studio, use -m"Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Query".
Shawn

Hi Shawn Xiao,
For starting SQL Server instance in single user mode, we can add –m; parameter in SQL Server Configuration Manager, also we can run CMD with ‘Run as administrator’ and input the following statement.
NET START MSSQLSERVER /m
I do a test in SQL Server 2014 Express version, after starting SQL with Single User Mode, SQL Server will only accept one connection. If you connect to SQL Server with a user account, the following error will occur.
Login failed for user ‘domain\username’. Reason: Server is in single user mode. Only one administrator can connect at this time.
However, in your situation, you can connect to SQL Server and run T-SQL statement successfully, it can be due to connection with the administrator account in your sqlcmd.
For more information, you can review the following article.
http://zarez.net/?p=117
Regards,
Sofiya Li
Sofiya Li
TechNet Community Support

HELP! iMac won't start up - launch_msg(): Socket is not connected

I've got an older 1.8GHz Intel iMac that I run as a server. The hard drive is partitioned into two volumes - one with 10.6.8 on it, and the other with Server 10.6.8. It was running fine until I restarted yesterday - I got the apple logo and the spinning progress wheel as though it was starting fine, but it just stayed like that forever. No problem, I'll just start up from the other partition, right? Wrong - same exact problem, no matter which partition I try to start from. When booting in safe mode verbose, the last message I see is "launch_msg(): Socket is not connected". I run disc utility and it finds no problems. Repair permissions finds some files in apple's help documentation that need fixing, which is done, but the problem persists.
I try to install a fresh system, but the system installer I have is OS 10.6.3, and it won't let me install over the "newer" 10.6.8 system. Argh!
I have an external USB hard drive, so I install a fresh system on that and am able to boot from it just fine. I rename the system and library folders on the internal drive so it won't recognize there's a system installed there. Then I'm able to do a fresh install of Server 10.6.3 on the internal drive. Installation goes fine, but guess what - when it reboots, the same problem still exists! Grey screen, apple logo, spinning progress wheel forever.
I'm about at wit's end here and would love some help!
The signs seem to be pointing to the hard drive being a problem, but disk utility finds no issues, and I'm able to copy files from it just fine. This is a 3TB hard drive that's less than a year old and was functioning just fine. I'm hoping to find a solution that doesn't involve reformatting this beast.
Any ideas appreciated! TIA.

It would be useful to know if you have a good backup of the important stuff on your HD. If not, its time to make one first. You should be able to do this using FW Target disk mode as suggested in my earlier post.
Deleting the iDvd plist file won't have been the cause of the problem, Rhthym.
Rather it sounds as if the computer is starting up in "single user" mode for some reason. (see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106388 )
First try typing "exit" and hitting return, instead of "reboot".
If this doesn't fix it, I'd reset the PRAM (hold down the command option p r keys while starting up - not just restarting - the computer and wait for the chimes to sound three times ) - see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
The fact that the computer gets stuck at this point, and the password message, also hints at the possibility that a corrupted "Netinfo database" may be the problem. Netinfo is essentially the system that OSX uses to take you beyond the single user "unix" system that you are currently booting into. Replacing this involves playing around with some significant unix commands though, so its not recommended unless you feel confident with such things. You can find instructions on how to replace it at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107210
If you still can't start up normally you should consider doing an "archive and install" from the OS CD. It may be that another OS system file related to the boot process has become corrupted. Doing an archive and install will leave your data correct , but replace the OS. You will need to re-install any OS updates again though - see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301270
If you contact Apple technical support tell them that the problem is that your computer is continually booting into "Single User mode".
Cheers
Rod

IMac Won't Start Up/Boot

My iMac won't start up. I've tried holding all kinds of key combinations while I turn it on, but it doesn't even get that far. It gets stuck on a folder with the Apple picture alternating with a question mark. It doesn't do anything else for a while, and then the fan turns on (???).

This is indicative of a corrupted system or drive. The first thing to try is:
Repairing the Hard Drive
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now shutdown the computer for a couple of minutes and then restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
If this doesn't solve the problem then you will have to reinstall OS X. If the drive tests out OK per the above then you can reinstall without erasing the hard drive:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.
Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
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Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.

HT1767 iMac won't start up.

My iMac won't start. When you turn it on the apple logo comes on but it keeps trying but never turns on. I tried unplugging it and plugging it into a new power source didn't work. I tried starting it up in safe mode didn't work. Any ideas out there?

There are some good Apple Support articles about startup issues, but which one to read depends on your operating system and model.
For example, if you are running 10.1-10.4, this one is good: Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
Here's one for 10.4-10.6: Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup (I know the apple logo is showing up for you, but good things to try anyway).
If you decide to run fsck as mentioned in the first article, be sure you read this article first: Mac OS X: How to start up in single-user or verbose mode
Regardless, are you in fact running a late 2009 iMac? If so, it's an Intel mac, and you're in the wrong room. You'll want to move your post to the Intel iMac community which has more active users. Remember to post your OS.

G3 imac won't start up

Hello. I am a not particulaly technical mac user and my G3 won't start up. When turned on it gets to the grey screen with the apple and the progress thing and thats it. This has occured after i carried out an apple download for OS X to repair security issues etc... i think it was download 8/08? There was an error doing this and it said the download was canceled and was now in the ? folder and to shut down or restart as per usual. I shut down the computer and when i went to restsrt it the next day got to the grey screen and apple and that's it.
I have unplugged all other hardware.
I have unplugged the computer, turned it off and on etc...
I cannot start up in safe mode
I can start up in single user mode and have done a fsck which said all ok, but when rebooting stopped at the grey screen again
not sure what to do next.
Help!

Suit,
To determine which iMac you have, this is the forum for this machine:
http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/15in-imac-g4-700-800-mhz.html
Does yours look like that or this:
http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/imac-g5-isight-oct-2005.html
If the former you're in the right place. If the latter move up to the G5 or Intel forum.
Here's the overview site:
http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/index.shtml
Your computer info will be on the bottom in the former and under the"foot" in the latter.
The next time I turned on the iMac was when this issue began.
So the next time you started up your iMac it probably tried to install the updates you already downloaded. Did it take a long time with the gray screen and cranking gear on that first startup? Did you let it go on and on like iphone says? When I'm doing these updates I will often just walk away from the computer and do something else and let it do it's thing.
If you force shutdown while the machine is writing the update it well mess things up.
Richard
Richard

My iMac won't start normally it will start on safe boot unless I start in verbus mode single user mode or reset the pram but if I start this way it won't sleep

help mi imac won't start normally

Hello!
Can you tell us what happens?
I’ve offered the steps below to similar posts in the past and they helped out getting to the solution (or at least find the cause). I suggest them to you too in this case. It will take you about 30 minutes or less to do these, depending on how bad the problem on your Mac is.
The goal here is to boot your Mac to the so-called Recovery partition where you’ll have a chance to repair the disk and the disk permissions using the Disk Utility and Password Utility. This might solve your issue and even if it doesn’t- it’s still a decent maintenance step to perform. These steps won’t erase your data or reinstall your Mac in any way if you follow instructions carefully.
Here’s how:
1/ Make sure your computer is completely shut down.
2/ You’ll have to be quick next: Press the Mac’s power button. As soon as you either hear the loud chime, or see the display light up - usually after a second or 2 - on your keyboard press [cmd] + [r] Keep these keys on your keyboard pressed until you either see an Apple Logo with a loading bar or a spinning gear.
After a few minutes, you’ll be presented with a Utilities screen. This is the Recovery partition. If this step is already giving you problems, try using a USB-keyboard. It doesn’t have to be an Apple-keyboard. If you have a Windows-tailored keyboard laying around, use the “Windows-flag” key in stead of the [cmd]-key and it should also work.
3/ Choose Disk Utility and click [continue]
Disk Utility will display your computer’s harddrive in the left column. The default name for it is “Macintosh HD” and is usually the second one from the top. Click on it and click on the [verify disk] button. This will check your “Macintosh HD” harddrive partition for errors. If found, click [repair disk] unless you have a Fusion drive in your Mac and it says [fix] instead of [repair disk] please tell us before you continue! For a screenshot of what I mean, check this article from Apple: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202574
4/ Once done with the verifying or repairing of your “Macintosh HD” click [repair disk permissions]
This will check your partition for permissions errors. A common myth about this feature is that it will fix all permissions issues on your Mac, which is not true, but it will fix most systemwide issues. Also, here is a list of error messages that you can safely ignore if they pop up:
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203172
5/ Lastly we shall do a permissions/Access Control List repair on specifically your user’s home folder with a somewhat hidden tool in the Recovery partition. Close Disk Utility and find the menu called “utilities” in the top left corner of your computer’s display. It’s in between the menus “edit” and “window” Don’t be confused with the menu called “os x utilities”
Choose Terminal. A somewhat old-fashioned looking window will pop up, waiting for a text command from you. This is the Terminal.
After the # type: resetpassword and press return. Note that there is no space between ‘reset’ and ‘password’
What you’ll see next is an rectangular window that gives you the option to reset passwords. We are not going to that, however. Instead, click on “Macintosh HD” at the top. In the pull-down menu below that, choose your user's accountname. Skip all the rest and at the very bottom click the [reset]-button.
A spinning gear will appear and may stay on for a second or several minutes. It’s hard to predict exactly how long.
If you have multiple users on your Mac, I advise you to repeat this step for all your users.
We’re ready to reboot your Mac now. Click on the Apple Menu and choose “startup disk” Choose to boot from “Macintosh HD” Please let us know if this solved your issue, or if the steps above did not work, or could not be performed for some reason.

Early 2008 iMac won't start up. Goes to apple logo and freezes

Early 2008 iMac won't start up. Goes to the apple logo but it has a couple of yellowish stripes on it. Then the whole screen gets the stripes and it freezes. Does the same thing using another start up drive or a recovery drive. Running Maverics. Help!

I work at an Authorized Apple Reseller and we are having the same problem with one of our showfloor models.
Model: iMac 21.5" (Brand New Core i3, etc)
Problem Description: When you press the power button, you hear the Apple chime and the screen turns on. Instead of booting normally, the screen shows the Apple logo, a spinning 'loading' circle (I call it a ferris wheel), and a loading bar below that. Typically the loading bar is for an EFI Firmware update, but I don't remember updating the iMac recently. Anyways, the loading bar moves once, starts over, and then the iMac shuts down.
Possibly Related Issue: Several days leading up to this issue, the computer was very noisy. It sounded like the hard drive was working overtime on indexing or something, but it ran fine and spotlight wasn't even indexing at all. I walked by it yesterday and noticed it wasn't on. I pushed the power button, and the problem it has now started.
I will keep searching the forum for a solution, but I have a feeling this is a hardware issue that will need to be serviced by Apple.
Sidenote: If anyone has any experience contacting apple as an Apple Reseller about repairing a computer before the warranty starts, any advice would be greatly appreciated

24" iMac won't start when iPod is connected

My 24" iMac won't start up/restart if my iPod is already connected to it. If I restart with the iPod connected, I just get a gray screen (with no apple logo) forever. Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, any solution? I have Windows installed with boot camp, don't know if that's the problem, but I tried reseting the p-ram, but to no avail...
Intel iMac 24", 7600 GT, 500GB, 2GB. Titanium Powerbook 667 MHz G4, loaded. Mac OS X (10.4.7) 30 GB iPod Video

My suggestion would be disconnect the iPod. That's just me though.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93953
I'm guessing Boot Camp is the culprit. Whatever emulated BIOS it's using doesn't like the iPod as a startup disk.

Imac won't start white screen apple icon spinning gear

imac won't start. when turn on, I just get a white screen with apple icon and a spinning gear below the apple icon. what should I do to get it started and fix the problem? Thanks.

See if any of the suggestions in this link help:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

IMac won't start with Thunderbolt Display connected after firmware update

After updating my thunderbolt display firmware to version 1.2 this morning via the App Store, my mid-2014 iMac won't start up with the external display connected. I can get the iMac to start up only by disconnecting the display's thunderbolt connector. After the iMac comes up, I can reconnect the display and everything appears to function normally. I've tried several restarts and the iMac won't start up with the display connected. Anyone else experience this?

Hello rameta,
It may help to reset your Mac's SMC and PRAM.
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Reset your computer’s PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Cheers,
Allen

After installing update, iMac won't start up

After installing the last updates my iMac won't start up, starts what look like install then just shuts down.

Would you care to tell us what exact model and version of iMac and what version of OS X you are using? We need a hint to help you.
Hope this helps .

IMac won't start - should I reinstall OS?

Recently my iMac won't start up - it goes to screen with folder + question mark. I've run Disk Utility, repaired hard drive, but there were no reported repairs to make.
Occassionally it will start up, and everything seems normal until suddenly the beach ball appears and everything freezes. 99% of tries it won't start up (i get the ? folder). Is it worth erasing the disk and reinstalling everything to see if a fresh start will help, or is it likely that the hardware is damaged?
Don't want to bother erasing it if there's no point... any advice greatly appreciated.
Also - anyone who's had their iMac repaired - what are the costs like?

I've just suddenly had the same problem - for no apparent reason as far as I can tell. The night before last I switched off my iMac as normal, and yesterday morning switched it back on. At first it would start, but crashed as soon as I tried to start any applications. Then it wouldn't start at all, and just got as far as the gray screen with the apple on it. After trying resetting the PRAM, switching on and holding the on button for 10 seconds, it was no different...
So, I tried doing a archive-reinstall from the original leopard DVD I bought from apple. This did a successful disk verification, but then said it couldn't install mac os due to a problem with the basesystem package. After that it wouldn't let me try another archive-install and only gave the options to install as new, or erase and install. The latter I don't want to do, and the former just gives the same basesystem error... All I get now is a flashing folder with a question mark and not even the gray screen...
I have tried using the diskutility to verify/ repair the hard drive and it says all is well...
I have heard this may all be due to dodgy RAM chips, but I have never messed with them or altered them. It just seems odd they should suddenly fail when they were working fine before.....
Any ideas would be much appreciated. A lot of data at risk
Dan.

Imac won't start up n issues in single user mode

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